maybe get a new name?

This is a review of Stolichniy vodka from Azerbaijan. I sampled it in Azerbaijan in 2018. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and I found it a bit boring.

This one is the fourth and final contender of the Sheki vodka experiment. It’s called Stolichniy, and if the name reminds you of the formidable Stoli, then you’re probably already a bit worried that it might turn out to be a disappointment.

clumsy design

This one cost 5 Manat for 500ml, so again it was a 4€/700ml deal. It sure is affordable to get wasted in the Caucasian Mountains.

The bottle design looked old in a bad way. And I don’t mean old-old, but rather old in the sense that the designers had wanted it too seem old maybe a decade or two ago. It looked clumsy. Also, it was another bottle with a cork cap.

The whole thing had an air of something that you would drink in order to get drunk.

the softness

There was a strong smell when I opened the bottle, something like industrial alcohol that was rather off-putting. I hesitated to take a sip, but when I did, the taste was cold and soft, and the vodka went down easily. It was much better than I had been expecting.

The aftertaste on the other hand was weak and somewhat boring. There wasn’t any significant warming sensation, and just a faint aroma of metal.

Overall, my review of Stolichniy vodka comes down to the fact that it was better than the bottle design suggested and worse than the name promised.